Tractor drawbar hitch

ABSTRACT

A sturdy yet easy to assemble and disassemble T-shaped apparatus for ganging together a plurality of individually powered trail-behind mowers for towing by a tractor mower or other type all-terrain vehicle in cutting grass or similar vegetation. This design includes a tractor drawbar pivotally attached to a vehicle for towing having a pivot pin connected thereto at an opposite end to the vehicle, a center drawbar centrally attached to the tractor drawbar by a pivot hinge for connection with the pivot pin, and which is pivotally attached on either end by a left and a right mower drawbar attachment. The center drawbar also having a rear hitch centrally connected, as by welding, on an opposite side to the pivot hinge to pull additional mowers. The design features at least three pivot points to allow an even cut by a plurality of trail-behind mowers on bumpy, uneven terrain.

1. CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The applicant and inventor, Donald E. Meyer, filed a provisionalapplication, No. 60-216,438, on Jul. 6, 2000 for the “Tractor DrawbarHitch” and hereby claims the benefit of the provisional applicationfiling date.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention, “Tractor Drawbar Hitch”, relates to asturdy T-shaped apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behindmowers for towing by a power vehicle such as an all-terrain vehicle orthe like, more particularly, to an assembly having at least three pivotpoints for ganging multiple trail-behind mowers for towing by atractor-mower or all-terrain vehicle while allowing each mower to freelymove up and down individually in rough terrain.

[0003] The “Tractor Drawbar Hitch” is designed to save considerableamount of time and manpower when mowing large areas of land. It is idealfor large estates, farms, and golf courses. The present invention allowsfewer individuals to mow more grass in less time, and it sets up inminutes. And, due to the multiple pivot point hitches, it enables theuser to mow uneven terrain easily and quickly.

[0004] The present invention is constructed of 2½ inch square tubing, 2inch square tubing, pivot and lynch pins, ⅛ inch cable, 2×¼ inch flatiron, cable hooks and clamps. Two trail-behind mowers are designed toattach to either side of the device, and then attach to the back of atractor mower or ATV, To use, simply attach the device's hinge pins(which features at least three pivot points) to each trail behind mower,and then attach the cable pins and drawbar pin to the tractor or ATV. Aplurality of mowers may be added by simply attaching another mower to arear hitch located at the back of the device.

[0005] Assemblies for connecting multiple mowers, or gang hitches, arewell known as prior art and the following patents shall be discussedrelative to the present invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,097,059, 4,815,259,5,069,022, and 5,851,020.

[0006] Prior art typically deals with gang hitch assemblies for whichmultiple off-the-shelf push mowers may be ganged together for creating agreater cutting width. The “Tractor Drawbar Hitch” relates totrail-behind mowers with much wider cutting widths, more specifically,it relates to trail-behind mowers manufactured by Swisher Mower MachineCompany presently having a non-limiting cutting width of 60 inches. Andyet, with minimal effort the present invention could easily include anattachment to retrofit with any manufactured trail-behind mower.

[0007] As shall be more fully illustrated in the detailed description,the present invention is both fundamental and versatile in that itconnects to Swisher Mower Machine Company trail-behind mowers by merelysliding a drawbar into hollow crossbars already located at the top ofeach mower. As such, attachments could easily be included to interfacewith any make or model of trail-behind mowers.

[0008] Swisher™ presently has its' own hitch apparatus for pullingtrail-behind mowers. It consists of a light duty hitch with one centerpivot point offsetting a first mower behind a tractor-mower. A secondmower can be vertically connected to the first mower whereby the twomowers could be pulled side by side behind the tractor-mower, however,such setup is not a recommended by Swisher.™ Moreover, having no sideterrain pivot points, such design does not sufficiently account forundulations or other variations in the contour of the terrain traversedby the assembly. A preferable design would be a heavy-duty hitch withmultiple pivot points allowing for easier use, independent horizontalmower movement, and superior durability.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,059 issued to Springer on Jun. 27, 1978defines a bracket for connecting a standard off the shelf push mower toa powered vehicle such as a motorcycle or the like. The principalconcept of this design is to provide a vertical pivot point to betterallow a two wheeled vehicle to pull a mower while enabling the rider tomaintain control of the vehicle in rough terrain, it does not allow fora plurality of mowers to be pulled by a powered vehicle.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,259 issued to Scott on Mar. 28, 1989 teachesa frame designed for ganging together a plurality of standard off theshelf rotary push mowers for towing by a vehicle. A great feature ofthis design is that it allows vertical and horizontal pivoting betweenthe mowers. And yet it calls for two mowers being ganged together behinda first mower therefore an inherent problem with this design is that athird mower could not be eliminated by a tractor-mower being used topull the mowers. Consequently, the design requires three mowers and apowered vehicle to achieve triple the cutting width, and the use of atractor-mower would only result in double cutting. A principal featureof the design incorporates skids to replace each of the rotary pushmowers' tires to prevent the lightweight mowers from tipping when makingturns. As such, it comprises multiple parts including an extensive listof small parts such as skids, cotter pins, cuter pins, and nuts andbolts. Assembly and disassembly is therefore burdensome and timeconsuming.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,022 issued to Vandermark on Dec. 3, 1991discloses a gang mower apparatus that is powered from the power take offof the tractor to engage the mowers. This design requires a high horsepower tractor, hydraulics, gearboxes, universal joints, hydrauliccylinders, hydraulic hoses and other wearing parts. Manufacturing wouldbe costly and the inclusion of so many non-wear resistant componentscould result in multiple extended down times. Transport of thisapparatus is cost prohibitive where hydraulics are necessary to raisethe mowers for transport from one location to another and disassemblyfor transport would be too burdensome and time consuming. And further,the maximum travel speed between locations is only about twenty-fivemiles per hour.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,020 issued to Godwin on Dec. 22, 1998 teachesa gang hitch assembly having a mechanism to connect each individualpush-type mower to the gang hitch with a pin and a spring for exerting alifting force between the pin and the hitch thereby transferring some ofthe weight on the mower's front wheels to the gang hitch. The Principalconcept of this design is to allow mowers with non-steerable front andrear wheels to have greater maneuverability while being pulled—a problemnot inherent with trail-behind mowers, or the applicants design.

[0013] The present invention overcomes the problems associated with theprior art by providing few, easily manufactured parts, no springs orhydraulics, quick, easy assembly and disassembly, easy transport, aheavy-duty durable design, the option to use a tractor-type mowerinstead of pulling three mowers by a non-mowing vehicle, and at leastthree distinct pivot points to allow the mowers to have optimalhorizontal movement.

[0014] What's more, a typical off the shelf push type mower generallyhas a cutting width in the 20-22 inch range; the typical trail-behindmower presently has a much greater cutting width and, the greater thewidth, the greater the weight. Tipping therefore is not a problem withtrail-behind mowers when being ganged together and pulled behind a powervehicle. Moreover, typical trail-behind mowers have design featuresalready included to prevent “tip-overs”, such as wheel assemblies beingmounted at potential tip points to allow the trail-behind mower to rollat an angle if necessary. Extensive experimentation by the applicant,however, has proven that the present invention has no need of theprecautionary wheel assemblies provided on such mowers because tippingduring turns, sharp or otherwise, is not a problem.

3. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide agang hitch apparatus for connecting a plurality of trail-behind mowersthat is sturdy, versatile, and yet easy to assemble, disassemble anddismantle.

[0016] Another object of the invention is to provide a gang hitchapparatus for connecting two trail-behind mowers in staggered relationto a riding lawnmower for permitting efficient use of the ridinglawnmower while eliminating the need for a third trail-behind mower.

[0017] A further object is to provide a gang hitch apparatus forconnecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers that would be cheap andeasy to manufacture with relatively few components and a minimal amountof small parts and wear points.

[0018] An additional object is to provide a gang hitch apparatus forconnecting a plurality of trail-behind mowers having at least threepivot points to allow the mowers optimal horizontal movement on roughterrain.

[0019] These objects, as well as further objects and advantages willbecome readily apparent after reading the detailed description of thenon-limiting illustrative embodiment with the accompanying drawings.

[0020] Briefly, the present invention comprises a tractor drawbaradapted to be releasably connected to a center drawbar thereby forming aT-shaped apparatus having a left and right drawbar being releasablyconnected to each end of the T-shaped apparatus thereby longitudinallyextending the T to each trail-behind mower for a connection distal tothe tractor drawbar so that each mower is pulled behind a tractor-moweron either side thereof with sufficient crossover of the cutting pathstaken into account for turns.

[0021] More specifically, the invention comprises a tractor drawbar forpivotal attachment on a forward end thereof to a conventional drawbar ofthe tractor mower or all-terrain vehicle; a pivot pin beingperpendicularly fixed to a left side of the rearward end of the tractordrawbar with the center drawbar having a pivot hinge fixedly secured ata central location thereof; the tractor drawbar is thus pivotallyattached to the center drawbar via the pivot pin conically mating withthe pivot hinge thus forming a T-shaped assembly; the center drawbaralso having two hinge sleeves fixedly attached at a left and right endthereof; the hinge sleeves being attached perpendicular to a frontwardand rearward side respectively of the center drawbar at two edges ofboth ends thereby creating a gap between the two sleeves a widthconsistent with the center drawbar; a left mower drawbar having apivotal sleeve fixedly secured at a first end thereof; the left mowerdrawbar connecting to the left end of the center drawbar by insertingthe sleeve into the gap thereof; insertion of a hinge pin through thethree hinge sleeves completes and secures the connection; a right mowerdraw bar identical to the left mower drawbar connecting to the secondend of the center drawbar in the same manner; and having a hitch fixedlyattached to the center drawbar at an opposite side to the pivot hitchwhereby a plurality of mowers may also be pulled by the gang hitchassembly.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1 is a side view in elevation of the preferred embodimentincorporating the principles of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 2 is an elevational broken away view of the gang hitchapparatus of FIG. 1.

[0024]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the assembled gang hitch apparatus ofFIG. 1 ganging together two trail-behind lawn mowers.

[0025]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembled gang hitch apparatus ofFIG. 1 ganging together three trail-behind lawn mowers.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0026] A tractor drawbar hitch illustrated in FIG. 1 permits a pluralityof mowers 13 to be pulled by a single vehicle 15 using the vehicle's owntractor hitch 16. The mowers 13 illustrated in the FIG's are gas-poweredmowers having individual motors. Specifically, the illustratedembodiment of the present invention represents all of the mowers 13 tobe trail-behind mowers manufactured by Swisher Mower Machine Company andsold under its' trademark. As such, the preferred embodiment of theapplicant's invention is best suited for trail-behind mowers.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 2, the tractor drawbar hitch fundamentallycomprises a first tractor drawbar 1, a center drawbar 2, a pair of leftand right mower drawbars 3, a rear hitch 12, and various means for whichto attach the abovementioned elements to each other and to the mowers14.

[0028]FIG. 3 illustrates the present invention making economical use ofa tractor mower. Only two trail-behind mowers are used to achieve up totriple the cutting width or in this case, fifteen feet of grass all atonce with up to five acres being cut in one hour. One of many beneficialfeatures of the illustrated embodiment in FIG. 3 is that the applicant'sinvention has a small number of components that are quick and easy toassemble and disassemble by simply inserting or pulling pins. Anotheradvantage and principal feature behind the invention is that itdisassembles into four main parts, that is, the tractor drawbar 1, thecenter drawbar 2 and two mower drawbars 3. In addition, the small partstotal six pins, cable 8A and cable clamps (See also FIG. 2). There arenot a lot of loose parts to worry about.

[0029]FIG. 4 further illustrates the practical versatility of thepresent invention where a third mower 13 can be attached via the rearhitch 12 for consumers who prefer using a non-mower type vehicle 15(shown on FIG. 1). This embodiment, as shall be fully set forth below,requires only a few additional parts while remaining quick and easy toassemble and disassemble. It does, unlike the embodiment in FIG. 3,require a minor modification to the third mower 13.

[0030] Again referring to FIG. 2, the tractor drawbar 1 has elongatedhollow square tubing at least two and one half square-inches wideforming a beam la which is fixedly secured part way down one end to acenter pivot pin 4, as by welding, the center pivot pin 4 beingperpendicular to a left side of the beam. Formed at a forward end of thebeam la is a U-shaped hitch 9. Aligned bores through each leg of theU-shaped hitch 9 receive a connecting pin 9 a to connect the U-shapedhitch 9 a to the tractor hitch 16, (shown in FIG. 1) thus the tractordrawbar 1 is able to rotate laterally on the connecting pin 9 a.

[0031] The tractor drawbar 1 attaches to the center drawbar 2 via thecenter pivot pin 4 of the tractor drawbar and a hinge sleeve 10 or thelike fixedly secured longitudinally at a frontward side on the centerdrawbar 2. The hinge sleeve 10 having a first end thereof being fixed ata center point on the center drawbar 2 and extending horizontally to theleft at least 16″. Thus the hinge sleeve 10 of the center drawbar 2 canreceive the center pivot pin 4 located on the left side of the tractordrawbar 1 from the right, thereby creating a T-Shaped assembly once thetwo elements are pivotally connected together. The center pivot pin 2 isthereafter securely fixed in place via a lynch pin or the like 6extending through aligned bores located at an extreme end of the centerpivot pin.

[0032] The center drawbar 2 has elongated hollow square tubing at leasttwo and one half square-inches wide forming a beam 2 a which connects ateach end via a pivot hinge 5 to the left and right mower drawbars 3.Pivot hinge 5 comprises two sleeves, 5 a and 5 b, each being weldedperpendicular to the center drawbar's frontward and rearward sides by atriangular flat iron sheet 5 c. One side of the triangle 5 c beingwelded to a sleeve with the adjacent side being welded to the centerdrawbar thereby causing each sleeve to be flush and at right angles withthe extreme end of the center drawbar 2 while forming a gap between thetwo sleeves the width of the center drawbar 12 for connection thereof tothe left mower drawbar 3.

[0033] The left and right mower drawbars 3 have elongated hollow squaretubing at least two square-inches wide forming a lateral beam 3 a whichconnects at one end to a hinge sleeve 3 c, as by welding. The hingesleeve 3 c slides in between sleeves 5 a and 5 b whereby the mowerdrawbar 3 is pivotally connected to the center drawbar 2 by a pivot pin11 passing through the three hinge sleeves 5 a, 3 c, and 5 brespectfully. Aligned bores through sleeve 5 a and pivot pin 11 receivea lynch pin or the like 6 to thereby fix the pivot pin 11 in place. Theleft and right mower drawbars 3 are therefore able to pivot horizontallywith some limited vertical movement and are easily connected to themowers 13 at an opposite end to the hinge sleeve 3 c by simply slidingthe end into a hollow crossbar 14 (shown on FIG. 4).

[0034] Since the hollow crossbar 14 is a standard feature of thetrail-behind mowers 13 used with this preferred embodiment, connectingeach mower to a mower drawbar is extremely findamental. Thus, onceconnected, aligned bores through crossbar 14 and mower drawbar 3 receivea lynch pin or the like 7 to securely fix the mower drawbar 3 in place.

[0035] Illustrated in FIG. 4, the center drawbar also has a rear hitchattached, as by welding, at a rearward side of the center drawbar forpivotal attachment to a third mower 13 via a pair of elongated hollowsquare tubing 16 at least two and one half square-inches wide forming abeam which is fixedly secured at one end to a pivot pin 17, as bywelding, the pivot pin 17 being perpendicular to a left and right sideof each beam respectively. Formed at a forward end of each beam 16 is aU-shaped hitch 19. Aligned bores through each leg of the U-shaped hitch19 and corresponding bores formed in the rear hitch receive a connectingpin 19 a to connect the U-shaped hitch 9 a to the rear hitch 12, thusthe third mower 13 is able to rotate laterally on the connecting pin 19a. The rear hitch being constructed of 2×¼ inch flat iron or the like,and being at least 2″ 10′ long. And finally, eyes affixed, as bywelding, to each mower crossbar allowing a cable connection between eachof the two mowers 13 via a cable assembly 8 affixed to a top forwardlocation of the tractor drawbar beam thereby allowing a mower to bounceoff of an obstruction, such as a tree or the like, rather than getcaught on an obstruction and possibly bend a component of the assembly.

[0036] It will be understood that various changes in the details,materials, arrangements of parts and operation conditions which havebeen herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature ofthe invention may be made by those skilled in the art within theprincipals and scope of the invention.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed is:1. A T-shaped gang hitch apparatus for towing a plurality oftrail-behind mowers by a vehicle for cutting grass and the like, whichcomprises: a tractor drawbar having an elongated beam with a meansformed on a frontward end of said tractor drawbar beam for pivotalattachment to the vehicle for towing; a cable attachment affixedperpendicular with a frontward top side of said tractor drawbar beamhaving a flat metal rectangle with left and right sides extending atleast one half inch and at a slight rearward angle beyond the tractordrawbar, and also having bores formed in either extended side; a centerdrawbar having an elongated beam with a means formed at a front centralpoint of said center drawbar beam for pivotal attachment to a rearwardend of said tractor drawbar so that once connected, said tractor drawbarand said center drawbar form into the shape of a T; a pair of mowerdrawbars each having an elongated beam with a means formed at a firstend of each said mower drawbar beam for pivotal attachment at either endof said center drawbar beam, and means formed on a second end of eachsaid mower drawbar beam for attachment to a mower; a cable assemblyhaving a cable and cable clamps; an eye affixed to each mower forreceipt of said cable after passing through said bores in said cableattachment on said tractor drawbar and being secured and tightened bysaid cable clamp so that an obstacle met by a mower will not causeeither mower drawbar to bend.
 2. The apparatus as in claim 1 whereinsaid means for attaching said tractor drawbar to said center drawbarcomprises a center pivot pin affixed to and extending perpendicularlyfrom a leftward side of said tractor drawbar beam, and a sleeve affixedto and extending laterally on a forward side of said center drawbar beamsuch that when said center pivot pin extends through said sleeve, saidtractor drawbar is centered with and perpendicular to said centerdrawbar.
 3. The apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said means for attachingsaid pair of mower drawbars to said center drawbar comprises a sleeveaffixed perpendicularly to a forward end of each said mower drawbarbeam, a pair of pivot sleeves affixed perpendicularly and extending froma frontward and a rearward side of either extreme end of said centerdrawbar beam, and a pair of hinge pins securing the pivotal connectionby vertically extending through all three sleeves once each said mowerdrawbar sleeve is aligned between said pair of pivot sleeves affixed tosaid center drawbar beam.
 4. The apparatus as in claim 3 wherein saidmeans for attaching said pair of mower drawbars to a pair of SwisherMower Machine Company trail-behind mowers comprises a bore defined insaid mower drawbar, a bore formed in a front hollow crossbar of theSwisher™ mower, and a lynch pin for extending through each of said boresonce said mower drawbar is inserted into the mower's hollow crossbar andeach of said bores are aligned.
 5. The apparatus as in claim 1, andfurther comprising: a rear hitch affixed to a rearward side of saidcenter drawbar comprising a flat metal sheet at least two inches wide,at least a quarter inch thick, and being at least thirty-four incheslong; a pair of hitch drawbars having an elongated beam with a meansformed at a forward end for pivotal attachment to said rear hitch and ameans formed on a rearward end of said hitch drawbar beam for attachmentto a third mower.
 6. The apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said means forattaching said pair of hitch drawbars to said rear hitch comprises aU-shaped hinge having two adjacent legs extending laterally from saidforward end of each said hitch drawbar beam, also having aligned boresdefined in each leg of said U-Shaped hinge, a corresponding pair ofbores defined in said rear hitch, and a pair of hinge pins such thatwhen said bores of said rear hitch are aligned with said bores of eachsaid U-shaped hinge, each of said hinge pins can vertically extend allthe way through each of said bores of said U-shaped hinge and said boreof said hitch drawbar beam.
 7. The apparatus as in claim 6 wherein saidmeans for attaching said pair of hitch drawbars to said third mowercomprises a pivot pin affixed to and extending laterally from a leftwardside of said first drawbar beam, a pivot pin affixed to and extendinglaterally from a rightward side of said second drawbar beam and twocorresponding hinge sleeves affixed to and extending laterally on aforward side of said center drawbar beam such that each of said pivotpins extend longitudinally through each of said corresponding sleeves.